History
The Titanic Calendar The Titanic Calendar is the name given to the primary measurement of time within the world of Elendria. It is so named in remembrance of the dark times of the [[Titanblade War]] to serve as a reminder to see to it that such monstrousities never again plague the world. Recorded History Begins (~20,000 BT - 10,863 BT) Within this time period is where records of ancient history stem back to. While the world was still young and primitive, the first of the intelligent races came into being on Elendria: the [[Kenku]]. These people were evolved from ravens and began forming the first truly structured and intelligent society. They began recording their history through writing that has come to be known as the ancient written language of runes. Within the runes, the Kenku discovered a way to harness the powers of the world around them and the ether that existed in the air as residue from the initial spark of life during creation. Thus, magic was born. The Kenku created a great many societies across the world, their wit and magical might keeping away the primitive beasts and lesser evolved beings that roamed the world. For over ten thousand years, the Kenku people thrived and the other races began to grow in both intelligence and societal standards, forming their own nations and tribes across the world. The Rise of the Titans (10,863 BT - 0 BT) In the year 10,863 BT, calamity struck Elendria. A band of adventurers hired to discover the reason cattle have gone missing from a local farm was lured into a trap. Within a dark cavern beneath the farm, several humans along with a cult of Kenku sages had discovered the existence of several alternate realms and planes. The sages intended to open a portal to those realms in order to discover what lay beyond the veil. To accomplish this, the Kenku needed particular sacrifices; unique qualities found specifically in the adventurers sent to investigate. The adventurers were ritualistically sacrificed. Their souls tore open a chasm within the world and reality itself. From the chasm erupted countless creatures and monsters beyond the ken of the mortal races. Demons, Dragons, and other titanic monstrosities washed over Elendria, enslaving the mortal races. The Kenku, however, were not so fortunate. The Kenku, in their arrogance, refused to submit to the power of the Titans and, in their struggle to fight back, the race was rendered all but extinct and their knowledge left to rot in the ruins of their once great nations and libraries. The most powerful of the Titans sought out the mortal nations, subjugating them and claiming dominion over particular territories. The mortal races were forced to toil in mines for gold and other tribute as well as act as soldiers in the Titans' wars against each other. This continued on for almost ten thousand years. This time became known as The Calamity. The Titanblade War (0 BT - 10 TC) The spark that ignited the Titanblade War was struck in the elven nation of [[Amvalume]]. There, their Titan overlord [[Balarong]], in his pride, had the elven races militarized more than any other Titan. The great red dragon was one of the strongest of the Titans to exist on Elendria. Of the elven slaves, [[Ixillidan]] was the most renowned for his skill in combat and his prowess in military tactics. Ixillidan served as commander to Balarong's forces. In this capacity, Ixillidan managed to organize his fellow slaves and stage a secret invasion of the great dragon's clutch chamber. Within, they found Balarong's consorts and their eggs. The elves snuck past the consorts as they slept and stole eggs. Over time, the slaves managed to steal enough eggs for a great number of their strongest warriors. They raised the eggs and the hatchlings in secret. When the dragons became too large to hide anymore, the slaves took to the sky atop the children of Balarong, initiating the battle that sparked the Titanblade War itself. The slaves struck down Balarong and his kin, leaving only the elves and their now loyal drakes to rule over Amvalume. Ixillidan was crowned the first King of Amvalume and thus the line of the Ixil began. The dragons were bred and became extremely loyal steeds to the Dragon Riders of Amvalume. These dragons became known as the Kin Drakes. In other parts of the world, news spread of the fall of Balarong to his own slaves. At this, the other races rose up against their own masters. In the coming battles, the tide did not so easily turn as it did for the elves. The mortal races struggled to overthrow their masters, who had begun working together in a tentative peace to save their way of life. External forces took notice of the conflict. Within the realm of the Celestials, mighty beings felt the energy clashing from the strife and conflict of the world of Elendria. This energy came directly from the mortal races crying out in anguish, desperately asking for someone, anyone, to help. The Celestials reached down to Elendria from their plane, choosing champions from the mortal races and gifting them with powerful weapons. The first of these champions was a Dwarven woman by the name of [[Thrima]]. Thrima was gifted the Titanblade by the Celestial [[Pelor]] and, as the champions and their relics of power were set loose upon the battlefield, the Titans fell and the mortal nations rose. Ten years the war lasted. And then the remaining Titans were forced into hiding, locked away or banished back to their own realm. And thus, the Titanblade War had come to an end. The Golden Age/Lost Age (10 TC - Present) For thousands of years, the world went without a threat anywhere near as disastrous as the Calamity. In this time, nations prospered and the mortal races spread across Elendria in even greater numbers. Business boomed and only the smallest of conflicts arose those millennia that were recorded in history books and scrolls. Unfortunately, during this time, very little history was written or documented in any lasting way. =